Saturday, February 24, 2007

“Houseless”

Tonight I went to one of the most interesting galleries in St. Petersburg. Studio 620 is a small gallery and has a variety of exhibits, lectures, and events. Recently, they have been showing the documentary movie Easy Street. The theme of the movie details the lives of the homeless here in St. Petersburg. I intentionally made the trip to the gallery looking forward to seeing this documentary. There has been a lot of press about the homeless primarily because the city is going through a period of renewal. In the downtown area you can’t look in any direction without seeing cranes and new high rises going up. These new complexes will be full of high priced condos, townhouses, and apartments. We are talking big time $$$$$. Besides buying up all the land and displacing a lot of low to middle class housing, the homeless are getting attention because they are now more unwanted than before the city’s renaissance. I don’t know what to think of all this. Since my opinion was blurred or at least middle of the road, I was hoping the documentary would help me to see things with a more informed eye. That didn’t happen. I am still straddling the line between having sympathy for those without a home, yet understanding why people don’t like having them around. Even though I am very liberal and empathetic, my skin crawled when some “houseless” (as they call themselves) men obviously drunk, joked and laughed as they displayed their creativity showing a batch of “We Work for……” signs on cardboard scraps. They looked into the camera and asked, “Why work?” when they can get money panhandling with their signs in tow. Yet, I cried when I watched those with severe mental or physical impairments who obviously needed genuine assistance.I don’t know the answer. I wish I did. As I drove home from the gallery, I passed one of the “tent cities” constructed by the houseless community. The visual of all the rag tag tents, shopping carts, garbage, and wandering souls reminded me of this installation I did years ago. Looking at my little colony, I can’t help but think with all the zillions of dollars coming into this city and creativity being put into its rebuilding, there just has to be a way to accommodate those in need. You would think, right (?) “Isodynamic Colony”Mixed Media InstallationSize VariableClick to Enlarge

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About Me

There are plenty of blogs with ART NEWS. This blog is about the introspective and emotional side of being an artist.
I am an Artist / Painter. I am fighting to have my best ART LIFE! Born in Detroit, I still have "industrial grit" all over me! Earned my B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Wayne State University in the middle of Deee-troit. I am still learning to live and be the artist I was born to be. The Universe has been kind. I am so thankful for the abundance in my life. Yet, I am still learning life lessons daily. Currently, I live and work in an urban, "cabin in the woods" situated in the UNIVERSE. See my work at www.wizzlewolf.com

“Miracles start to happen when you give as much energy to your dreams as you do to your fears.”

Richard Wilkins

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“Well, while I’m here I’ll do the workand what’s the work?to ease the pain of living.Everything else, drunkendumbshow”

Allen Ginsberg

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ARTISTS: Never be jealous of other artists if they sell or get attention. What is good for them is good for all. It is like poking a hot coal in a bonfire. After the nudge, everything starts to burn. In other words, we all stay warm!!! :-)

wizzlewolf

(aka: Sheree Rensel)__________

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters."

Epictetus

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"Beware of artists - they mix with all classes of society and are therefore most dangerous...".

Queen Victoria

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"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."

Aristotle

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"I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite -- only a sense of existence." Henry David Thoreau